Gaming

The 5 Best Games You Should Play This Weekend

The 5 Best Games You Should Play This Weekend (1/5/13)

1. Hundreds

Hundreds is one of the most interesting games to come out of this week's batch of iOS apps. This puzzle game, partially created by the maker of the successful Canabalt, is challenging and addictive.

Hundreds' object is to touch the circles on the screen until their internal counters add up to 100. That simple concept quickly becomes tricky when you learn that your circles can't touch each other or anything else while they're ticking upward. Once you're confronted with puzzles filled with bouncing bubbles all over the screen, Hundreds difficulty quickly becomes apparent.

This quirky puzzle game comes in a sleek package with beautiful typography that makes it even more enjoyable to play. It's available now for iOS [iTunes link], and is currently on sale for $2.99.

2. Amnesia: A Dark Descent

Steam is wrapping up its holiday sale this weekend, and while there are many choice games up for grabs (some only available in short bursts during flash sales), Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one you cannot miss.

Amnesia holds the honor of being one of the scariest video games ever created. Think you're tough? Try running around an ink-black dungeon without weapons, barely able to escape the monsters that chase you. These also aren't your average monsters; these creatures crawled out of your most demented nightmares and will probably haunt you every time you turn off the lights.

The game centers around Daniel, who wakes up with titular form of memory loss and must recreate the events on how he got that way as he explores a twisted 18th-century castle. If this piques your curiosity even a little, Amnesia is only $4.99 on Steam right now, playable on both Mac and PC. I recommend playing with the lights off.

3. Frog Fractions

Frog Fractions is on its surface a children's title. This browser-based game is masqueraded as educational, but you'll soon see how totally absurd it is.

It's hard to talk to much about this game without spoiling it, but let's just say there is a dragon, a warp drive, cybernetic implants, and, of course, math. Fans of the ridiculous will really enjoy it. Just go play it and come back in 30 minutes to thank me.

4. The Last Express

Fans of classic point-and-click adventure should snap up The Last Express for iOS while it's $2 cheaper.

The Last Express was originally released in 1997 on PC. The beautiful adventure game takes place on a trans-European train in 1914. Your character must unravel a mystery by talking to 30 different characters, eavesdropping, sneaking around and even defusing a bomb. All of the events also occur in an approximation of real time, and the game feels very much like a choose-your-own-adventure book.

This unique PC game, done entirely in a rotoscoped art style, was re-released on iOS [iTunes link] in late 2012 with adaptations for touch controls. This is its first price drop, to $2.99, so those interested should grab it now.

5. Soda Drinker Pro

What can I say about Soda Drinker Pro? This game is on the forefront of the FPS genre -- for First-Person Soda.

Soda Drinker Pro has everything. Sodas. Sipping. Scenery. Bonus Sodas. This indie gem was promoted on Reddit a few days ago, and won the hearts of the community there. For fans of strange indie games, this is a free download at SodaDrinkerPro.com.

If you like that, check out a full breakdown on its origins from the creator.

The holiday season is over; gaming releases have slowed to a trickle after the tidal wave that is the holiday release schedule.

If you're looking for something different to whet your gaming appetite, or a small weekend diversion, we've got you covered with our list of the 5 best games for the week. There are lots of great games available at bargain prices right now, thanks to big sales on Steam and iTunes. Everything on this list can be played for $5 or less, and two of the games are free.

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